U.S. Toll roads since 1950: Trends in toll rates per mile compared with inflation

Abstract

Recently there has been a trend among toll road agencies to index their tolls to inflation, giving rise to the question of how past tolls compared with inflation. To answer that question, a database including all toll roads in the United States since 1950 was developed. The database was used to analyze historical national average per mile toll rates for passenger cars and commercial vehicles and to compare these rates with rates of inflation. Historical toll road operation trends, including the annual number of agencies and ccnterline mileage since 1950, were also analyzed and discussed in the context of changing federal highway policies over time. To consider inflation from the perspective of drivers and toll ugencics, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' national-level all urban consumers consumer price index (CTI) and FHWA construction price indexes were used for comparison. It was found that considering typical published electronic or cash toll rates, the national average annual toll increase since 1960 was 3.2% for passenger cars and 3.6% for commercial vehicles. That result compares with an average annual national CTI increase of 4.0% and construction price increase of 3.8% in this period. While current national average toll rates remain significantly lower than the inflation rate, the gap has narrowed in recent years, especially considering commercial vehicle tolls and the drop in construction prices following the recent recession.